Our Firm’s High-Profile Cases

Hilder & Associates, P.C., has had unparalleled success in representing high-profile whistleblowers who have had a major impact in the corporate and political worlds. Notable whistleblowers represented by the firm:

ENRON WHISTLEBLOWER: Enron whistleblower, Sherron Watkins, had warned the CEO that Enron was about to implode in a wave of accounting scandal. At the time of collapse, Enron was the seventh largest corporation in America. As a result of Enron’s collapse, Congress initiated the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, which regulates publicly traded companies. Ms. Watkins became Time’s Person of the Year (2002). The collapse of Enron is captured in the documentary Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room, in which Philip Hilder is interviewed regarding his thoughts on the Enron collapse. Philip Hilder represented Ms. Watkins throughout the Enron matter, including the Congressional testimony.

CONGRESSIONAL SCANDAL WHISTLEBLOWER: Hilder & Associates, P.C., represented the whistleblower who shed light on the lobbying activities of Washington super lobbyist Jack Abramoff. A Congressional scandal followed revelations of Mr. Abramoff’s lobbying activities resulting in several federal prosecutions along with Congressional lobbying reform. The firm’s client is prominently featured in the documentary that highlights Mr. Abramoff’s activity, Casino Jack and the United States of Money released in the spring 2010.

FINANCIAL COLLAPSE WHISTLEBLOWER: Hilder & Associates, P.C., represented the former Regional Vice President for Countrywide (Houston division), once the nation’s largest home lender and loan servicer. Our client was one of the very first to publicly expose Countrywide’s activities, including arranging for inflated appraisals and awarding loans to unworthy credit seekers. The lending practices, such as the ones at Countrywide led in part to the worst economic recession since the Great Depression. Our client’s allegations were made public before the economy went into a tailspin.

NEWS CORP. SUBSIDIARY, NEWS AMERICAN MARKETING WHISTLEBLOWER:Hilder & Associates, P.C., represented Robert Emmel, a former executive of News Corp. subsidiary News America Marketing, both as a whistleblower and defending him in a lawsuit brought by his ex-employer News, to silence him. Emmel provided what he believed to be anti-competitive wrongdoing and testified in three lawsuits brought by competitors of NAM where they ultimately paid $655 million in settlements. NAM attempted to silence Emmel by suing him. Emmel was successfully defended by the firm.

FINANCIAL COLLAPSE WHISTLEBLOWER:Hilder & Associates, P.C., represented a former derivative specialist at Harvard Management Company (responsible for investing Harvard’s endowment) who in early 2002, long before the “Great Recession,” warned of the dangers of derivatives for investment purposes. Though her concerns were dismissed, ultimately, a resolution was reached with Harvard over her firing.

INDUSTRIAL EXPLOSION WHISTLEBLOWER:Hilder & Associates, P.C., represented the VP of Operations at Imperial Sugar, who warned executives after a few weeks on the job, of the dangerous level of sugar dust. A short time later, the Imperial Sugar plant in Port Wentworth, GA, exploded, killing 14 workers. Our client had the courage to step forward to testify truthfully in hearings in the United States Senate about what he believed to be the causes of the explosion, which were contrary to the position that Imperial Sugar took.

ENERGY WHISTLEBLOWER:Hilder & Associates, P.C., represented a Dynegy Energy whistleblower, who as Chief Accounting Officer, was terminated for failing to engage in accounting manipulation. Philip Hilder was one of the attorneys who represented this whistleblower in a lawsuit for wrongful termination. The matter went to trial with a multimillion-dollar verdict in favor of the whistleblower.